Mutual Understanding
by prince hans
Summary: Here's the thing about Tajima: he understood Mihashi. Probably better than anyone. He could read those jerky body movements Mihashi tended to make when he was anxious, he could understand those clipped half-sentences Mihashi was fond of, and he knew just the right things to say to make Mihashi calm down under pressure. (a study of Tajima and Mihashi's friendship)


Here's the thing about Tajima: he understood Mihashi. Probably better than anyone. He could read those jerky body movements Mihashi tended to make when he was anxious, he could understand those clipped half-sentences Mihashi was fond of, and he knew just the right things to say to make Mihashi calm down under pressure. Despite multiple teammates telling them they really should date, they'd make the perfect couple; the two seemed perfectly content at being the best of friends.

Tajima often visited Mihashi at home over the summer, on the days they didn't have practice. They would play video games for hours, and even have sleepovers if Tajima was too lazy to bike home. Sometimes, they would explore the woods behind Mihashi's house, almost like they were children, and even had a secret hideout that consisted of a low-hanging tree and a couple of poorly nailed-in planks of wood.

On the days they did have practice, and a pile of homework to complete for school, Mihashi would go to Tajima's place to study and complete their work together until night fell. Then, after minutes of protest from Mihashi, Tajima would walk the pitcher home to make sure he made it there safely. Mihashi always felt terribly guilty afterwards, and made sure to bring Tajima an extra lunch the next school day.

Sometimes they practiced together over the winter break to make sure neither of them would get rusty on their technique. More often than not, they would invite teammates of theirs, regular appearances including Abe, Izumi and Hanai.

Mihashi would often get into fights with Abe. And by fights, I mean Abe making a fuss over something and Mihashi blowing things terribly out of proportion and getting upset. Whenever it would happen, whenever it got really nasty, Mihashi would call Tajima and cry for a full ten minutes. Tajima would be there five minutes after, hopping on his bike and riding as fast as he could as soon as he picked up the phone and heard the sniffling sounds of a crying Mihashi on the other end, ready to sort out whatever miscommunication the two had encountered.

Mihashi and Tajima began to call each other by their first names. It all started when Tajima teased Mihashi about his nickname "Ren-Ren", but it seemed to stick after a few times. In the company of only themselves, they were fondly dubbed "Ren-Ren" and "Yui-kun".

One time, only once, and never again after, Mihashi and Tajima kissed. It was a Saturday night (early Sunday morning) and the two were dead tired, but unable to fall asleep. They began to talk about relationships; whether either had been in any, how far had they gone, who was it with, etcetera. The farther they delved into their personal romantic lives, the closer the two had gotten to each other. Their knees were touching, their cheeks flushed, and their eyes heavy but bright. Mihashi admitted he had never had a kiss. Tajima admitted that he had had a few. Then, Tajima had leaned in and closed the gap between them, and pressed his own chapped lips into Mihashi's. It was just a peck, too chaste to count, but the two had quickly pulled back and made quite a fuss. Tajima rambled for about a minute before coming to the conclusion that he had slipped, it was an accident. Mihashi could only manage to squeak an "it's okay" over a long strand of mumbles and stutters. They vowed to never speak of it again.

A year passed, and Tajima and Mihashi remained strong friends. They had grown up, second years now, and both had changed, but their loyalty didn't break. During the year, Abe and Mihashi officially started dating. Tajima had gotten a few sorry looks from his teammates, and Sakaeguchi even went as far as to talk to him about it, to offer his condolences. Tajima was confused, and Sakaeguchi explained further. He knew Tajima had feelings for Mihashi since their first year in highschool, and it must have hurt to see him be taken away by Abe.

Tajima laughed for five minutes straight, clutching at his ribs and tears collecting in the corners of his eyes. Because Tajima understood Mihashi, and Mihashi understood Tajima. They both had feelings for other people, and the thought of them together had never crossed their minds.

During baseball season, Tajima injured himself during a game. A sprained and bruised ankle from falling too hard during a run from third to home base. Mihashi made himself sick over worrying himself too much, checking in on Tajima during the week he was out of practice and school, bringing him food while Tajima's family was out, and helping Tajima make up the homework and assignments he was missing from being out of commission. Tajima was quick to accept the help, but never asked Mihashi to do more than he felt necessary.

Once the two got into a fight. It was stupid and unnecessary and Tajima couldn't even remember what it was about, but it lasted about fifteen minutes before he snapped and called Mihashi to apologize. They played online video games together the rest of the night and it was never brought up again.

Another year passed. Tajima was dating Hanai, and Mihashi and Abe were still together. The time they spent together became farther in between, both being devoted to others, but they made it work. Not once had either doubted their friendship. They understood each other, better than anyone. Because Tajima could read Mihashi's expression just from taking a glance, and Mihashi could tell whether the smile Tajima wore was fake or not.

They were best friends, and nothing would get in the way of that.

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**some notes:**

**sorry if any errors, this was written around 2 months back, after not having written anything for about 6 months. i luv these baseball boys.**

**thanks fer reading!**


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